Attempt to oust Brown fails to gain support

AN attempt to oust British Prime Minister Gordon Brown ran out of steam after two ex-Cabinet plotters failed to win support from ministers, but analysts said Brown’s authority had been shaken.

Brown called the challenge to his leadership “a storm in a teacup,” saying he had the full backing of his Cabinet.

Only months before an election, which the Labour Party is expected to lose, Wednesday’s plot could not have come at a worse time for Brown, especially as his poor opinion poll ratings had been showing signs of improvement.

Labour’s popularity has been hit by a deep recession, an increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan and a scandal over politicians’ expenses. Political analysts say the Conservatives have failed to build up a big enough poll lead to guarantee a parliamentary majority in the election, expected to be held in early May.

Having seen off a second coup attempt in little over six months, Brown’s position looks secure at least until the election, which is expected to end 13 years of Labour rule.

“It will have diminished his authority to the wider public, but within the Labour Party it may well strengthen his position in the run-up to the election, because the attack seems so ill-judged,” said Justin Fisher, professor of political science at Brunel University.

Party officials said many Labour politicians were “fire and brimstone angry” over the call from ex-defence minister Geoff Hoon and ex-health minister Patricia Hewitt for a secret ballot on Brown’s future, fearing it might undermine the party’s pre-election campaign.

“This move has misjudged the mood here,” one aide to Brown told Reuters.

However, jitters over the strength of Brown’s leadership put pressure on sterling for a second day, with markets already on alert over the fragile economy and sizeable budget deficit, set to top 12% of gross domestic product this year.

“An additional bout of political uncertainty is hardly well timed,” said Jonathan Loynes, an economist at Capital Economics.

Brown told a local radio phone-in programme he was unfazed by the plot and getting on with doing his job. “This is a bit of a storm in a teacup. We are actually dealing with real storms at the moment.”

Britain has suffered unusually cold weather this week, heavy snow and ice severely restricting air, rail and road travel and forcing thousands of schools and businesses to close.

A senior minister, linked to Wednesday’s plot by some media, dismissed any suggestion that there had been any Cabinet involvement.

“We’re all determined to win the election under Gordon’s leadership for the good of the country,” said Foreign Secretary David Miliband.